Chelan County, WA Short-Term Rentals: Noise Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing noise chapter
- Chapter 7.35, Noise Control
- Abatement window
- 60 minutes of notification
- Liability
- owner jointly liable with renter
- Must be documented in
- property management plan
- Two violations in 6 months
- revocation risk
Summary
Every short-term rental in unincorporated Chelan County must operate in compliance with Chapter 7.35, Noise Control, and that requirement has to appear in the property's management plan. When neighbors file a public disturbance noise complaint, the owner or operator must resolve it within sixty minutes of notification or become jointly liable with the renter.
(E) Noise.
(i) Short-term rentals must be operated in compliance with Chapter 7.35, Noise Control. This requirement must be included in the property management plan per subsection (3)(K) of this section.
(ii) Public Disturbance Noise Complaints. Renters are subject to the provisions of Chapter 7.35. Owners or operators of short-term rental properties notified of complaints are responsible to promptly abate public disturbance noise complaints on their property. If the owner or operator fails to cause the noise to be abated within sixty minutes of notification of the complaint, he is subject to compliance with Chapter 7.35 and the enforcement penalties jointly and severally with the renter creating the public disturbance noise.
Full Breakdown
290(3)(E) makes short-term rental noise a compliance condition of the rental permit itself, not just a general nuisance matter. 35, Noise Control, and requires owners to build that obligation into the property management plan kept on file with Community Development under subsection (3)(K). 35 directly, but when the county or a neighbor notifies the owner or operator of a public disturbance noise complaint, that owner or operator is responsible for promptly abating it. The sixty-minute clock starts at notification, mirroring the same abatement window the chapter uses for parking and trespass complaints.
35 and to enforcement penalties under this chapter jointly and severally with the renter who caused the disturbance, meaning the county can pursue either party or both. This noise standard applies across all three rental tiers and runs alongside the requirement that a qualified local contact be reachable twenty-four hours a day to receive exactly this kind of complaint and respond in person or through a designee.
Violations & Fines
Failure to abate a public disturbance noise complaint within sixty minutes of notification exposes the owner or operator to enforcement penalties under Chapter 7.35 and joint liability with the renter. A pattern of unresolved complaints escalates: two verified, unabated noise violations within six months at the same property can trigger additional penalties under Chapter 16.20, up to revocation of the short-term rental land use permit.
Frequently Asked Questions
How fast must a Chelan County STR owner respond to a noise complaint?
Can the county penalize the property owner instead of the renter for loud guests?
Does one noisy weekend put a short-term rental permit at risk?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Chelan County
Compare Chelan County to another location·View the Washington short-term rentals overview
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